Couple Saturday Thoughts.

[RugbyMuffin]

What up Ladies and Gentlemen,

Hope you are all having a good Saturday morning.


#1 - I read this on AZCardinals.com.

Graves called Campbell one of the Cardinals’ current “core players,” always a good sign when it comes to a potential new deal.

So I guess he is as good as gone. Kinda of tired of this ridiculous term that the Cardinals throw around. Campbell is either a core guy or not. Don't tell me the money isn't there either. We are paying Levi Brown and Joey Porter 8 and 7 million each this year. 15 million in cap space for too woeful under performers. Seriously, get it done. One of the absolute few places where the Cardinals show any real advantage is the D-line. A smart organization would keep it that way.


#2 - The offensive line and "continuity"

I call hogwash. Absolute hogwash. Continuing to suck badly is nothing you want to keep going. They gotta do something before they either ruin or hurt their new investment at QB. Whatever happened to "getting the right players in the right spots". Whatever happened to competition ? For a top five overall pick, Levi Brown is officially a bust. Just call him Bust-er Brown or whatever. Brandon Keith and his "great feet and moves like a first round pick" yeah well he plays like a McGinnis UDFA. Both of them bring memories of Anthony Clement who is the worst football player I have every seen. And don't get me started on our newly re-signed center who didn't deserve a new contract and has never had to fight for a roster spot since he got here. What does he do lie at Grimm's feet at night ? I don't care if the Cardinals have success from this point out. This line has to improve, and something has to be done. Let's show that the offensive line can actually DO something before we worry about it "coming together".

Give Bridges a shot. Throw Lutui in there, give someone else a shot at center. Do something before our QB gets knocked out, and the season goes even faster down the toilet. IF Russ Grimm is half as good as he says he is, then show it. Grow a pair and make it happen. Last year I jumped on the "Russ Grimm is the most overrated coach in the league, and now I got a front seat on that wagon."


#3 - Getting used to Whiz.

Beanie Wells is healthy for this week. I have him in fantasy football. My team is destroyed with injury, and I will still sit him. Why ? Cause I know Whiz, and he won't run Wells this week. Count on it. Whiz, and his game planning has become "too cute" for my tastes. You have monsterous offensive linemen than granted can't do too much of anything well, but they seems to run block a little better this year. Flippin' run the rock. If Wells says he is good, then run him, and don't waver on it.


#4 - Defense: Give Horton some time.

The defense will work. It will take some time. I think it is obvious the problem is the players. They are either too stupid (Schofield, Bradley, Wilson, Williams), too young (Acho, Peterson, Jefferson), not talented enough (Jefferson, Porter, Williams, Wilson, Lenon) or just not buying into it (Wilson). Horton generated pressure with no talent at the OLB position. He has shown he can do what it takes to band-aid a situation in Seattle. What can you do when the players are just failing ? Horton said time and time again that when the DB makes a mistake it is usually for points. Well, we have seen it. Our All-Pro leader of the team safety looks horrid, and that is leaking into the defense as a whole. Wilson has to get his mind right, be humble and start being a leader with his head fastened on correctly. Cause he is a problem on many levels right now. The biggest level ? He is the leader of this defense both in name, and in voice and he is failing on the field in all roles.

I woke up from my blind support of Whiz last year, and I think I am just now shaking off the shock of watching, whatever it was you wanna call what that "football team", did last year. Now that I really can see Whiz for what he is, I will say this. "When are we EVER going to get a coach that runs the football and uses play action off the run ?" I thought Whiz would do that, and apparently only Bill Cowher did that for the Steelers. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah it is a passing league and all that, but I refuse to hear that the NFL doesn't have the talent within the league to get a good running team roster together. Won't buy it for a 2nd, and yearn for 4-6 yards and a could of dust.

#5 - The re-prioritizing of the post-lockout fan.

My hat is off to those who are so hard-core you that your days are still filled with football. I almost wish I could be that way again, but I can't. The NFL is a 365 day a year sport. Once you dive into it, there is never a time where there is nothing to think about, or get into with the sport.

The lockout came and broke the endless chain. Now I see where it should be in my priorities, for me. Not saying what is right or wrong, just statin' not, hatin' Just seems there are more important things for me to be focusing on, and even when I want to be able to dive into football and lose myself in it, I can no longer do so. Don't get me wrong, I still love watching the Cardinals, and football, it is just not at the same level.

I think that many here are seeing the same thing. Thus the slow board. Last week we lost. I wasn't upset. Got to watch some football, relax and get off my feet for a few hours. Of course a win is a little more fun, but again I couldn't get into it. So many things to put my emotions, and attention to that I can't waste it getting into a football game like I used. Hopefully it will change, or maybe hopefully it won't. Who knows. Just a different situation. weird.


Go Cards!

PS - Got free Cardinals vs. Eagles tickets from a vendor at work! Get too see them live in Philly. Pretty cool.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I thought Porter took a huge paycut to stay with the team this year.

 

[JeffGollin]

I'm not sure what all of this means but...

Sometimes in our effort to "get real" about every actual or imagined weakness on our roster, we forget that few if any other NFL teams are that close to perfection either.

Despite all our failings, what beat us in Washington was a fumble on our final drive, and the difference between victory and defeat in Seattle was a couple of missed field goals.

Lesson to be learned - We can't change our roster at this point in the yearly cycle, but we can play hard and clean up all the dumb stuff. That's where games figure to be won or lost.

 

[Duckjake]

#2 - The offensive line and "continuity"

I call hogwash. Absolute hogwash. Continuing to suck badly is nothing you want to keep going.

2007 -Levi Brown (11 starts), Duece Lutui(15), Lyle Sendlein (2) Reggie Wells(16) and Mike Gandy(16)

2008 Those 5 started all 16 games.

2009 Only Gandy (12) didn't start all 16 games. Bridges started 4.

2010 line is changed.

2011 line is changed again.

Continuity seemed to work ok for the Cardinals.

Couldn't agree more about Campbell.

Also on the Defense. The Cards are either too old or too young. Its evident when you see two of our 3 guys that are neither, Dockett and Campbell, playing well and the young guys on the bench while the DC talks about not learning yet. And that is why I still stand by my defense of the future take and hope it isn't because guys are just dumb.

 

[spanky1]

Sometimes in our effort to "get real" about every actual or imagined weakness on our roster, we forget that few if any other NFL teams are that close to perfection either.

Despite all our failings, what beat us in Washington was a fumble on our final drive, and the difference between victory and defeat in Seattle was a couple of missed field goals.

Lesson to be learned - We can't change our roster at this point in the yearly cycle, but we can play hard and clean up all the dumb stuff. That's where games figure to be won or lost.

Jeff,

As always, a voice of reason.

 

[conraddobler]

Sometimes in our effort to "get real" about every actual or imagined weakness on our roster, we forget that few if any other NFL teams are that close to perfection either.

Despite all our failings, what beat us in Washington was a fumble on our final drive, and the difference between victory and defeat in Seattle was a couple of missed field goals.

Lesson to be learned - We can't change our roster at this point in the yearly cycle, but we can play hard and clean up all the dumb stuff. That's where games figure to be won or lost.

I think some of us are well aware of our faults in comparison to other teams, and over the decades if you want to stack us up against any other franchise you tell me who on average has more holes than us....

I hear what Rugby is saying, I'm a different type of fan than I was 10 years ago, this team gets you in a delusional mode where you can see anything through Cardinal colored glasses.

DG broke the spell for me, that hire ticked me off from the get go, I was excited about Whiz until he knocked me off his bandwagon, now I'm sitting here thinking we suck again.

 

[BigRedRage]

porter is under 2 mil this year.

 

[MrYeahBut]

I think some of us are well aware of our faults in comparison to other teams, and over the decades if you want to stack us up against any other franchise you tell me who on average has more holes than us....

I hear what Rugby is saying, I'm a different type of fan than I was 10 years ago, this team gets you in a delusional mode where you can see anything through Cardinal colored glasses.

DG broke the spell for me, that hire ticked me off from the get go, I was excited about Whiz until he knocked me off his bandwagon, now I'm sitting here thinking we suck again.

It's like we've had our 15 min of fame and it's over. Back to the usual. I'm with Rugby in that I still watch every game, pay for Directv, yell like hell every Sunday, still coming over for a game this season, but it somehow just isn't the same.

 

[Duckjake]

It's like we've had our 15 min of fame and it's over. Back to the usual. I'm with Rugby in that I still watch every game, pay for Directv, yell like hell every Sunday, still coming over for a game this season, but it somehow just isn't the same.

It's been like that for me as well since January 10th 2010. That game vs Green Bay plus being at the NFC Title Game has made everything different. It's like we made it to a place we never thought possible for Cardinal fans and everything since is just not that big of a deal.

I still love talking Cardinal football and trying to work the Duckjake reverse curse but I no longer throw stuff at the TV or kick the Dog when they play poorly or get too crazy when they play well.

 

[az1965]

Beanie Wells is healthy for this week. I have him in fantasy football. My team is destroyed with injury, and I will still sit him. Why ? Cause I know Whiz, and he won't run Wells this week. Count on it. Whiz, and his game planning has become "too cute" for my tastes. You have monsterous offensive linemen than granted can't do too much of anything well, but they seems to run block a little better this year. Flippin' run the rock. If Wells says he is good, then run him, and don't waver on it.

He is saving him for the playoffs

 

[MrYeahBut]

It's been like that for me as well since January 10th 2010. That game vs Green Bay plus being at the NFC Title Game has made everything different. It's like we made it to a place we never thought possible for Cardinal fans and everything since is just not that big of a deal.

I still love talking Cardinal football and trying to work the Duckjake reverse curse but I no longer throw stuff at the TV or kick the Dog when they play poorly or get too crazy when they play well.

Yeah, that playoff game I went to against the Saints, when I saw Warner get just leveled at the end, I somehow had this creepy feeling it was over.

Last year was hard for all Card fans....but hey there's a game Sunday..



.

 

[kerouac9]

On Horton:

Urban said that the Cards pared back 80% of their defensive playbook(!!!) for the game against the Seahawks. The Defense did all right, but it was also against the most toothless offense in the NFL, and they still scored more points than they had all season.

The Cards would be ill-advised to think that because they held the Seahawks to 14 points or whatever that their defense is on the right track. The Seahawks' offense is just awful. I think that people are starting to come around to the idea that Billy Davis was probably scapegoated and the problem with the D isn't the system, it's the personnel playing in the system.

It's amazing that no one is questioning whether this is the right system to run when it seems like the majority of players are confused about their assignments week after week. If Schofield, Wilson, Peterson, Campbell, Bradley, etc. are confused about what they're supposed to be doing, maybe the problem is that the defense is too confusing?

Until the Cards find a way to get to the passer against a solid team while only rushing 4, we're going to give up some very big plays indeed.

 

[Cheesebeef]

On Horton:

Urban said that the Cards pared back 80% of their defensive playbook(!!!) for the game against the Seahawks. The Defense did all right, but it was also against the most toothless offense in the NFL, and they still scored more points than they had all season.

The Cards would be ill-advised to think that because they held the Seahawks to 14 points or whatever that their defense is on the right track. The Seahawks' offense is just awful.

agreed. I read this and just chuckled. can this team really be that delusional that they think the paring down of the playbook was what completely turned the D around and it wasn't playing a team that was averaging 9 ppg?

also, read Urban's article on Campbell... he's as good as gone. The mouth of Sauron has spoken and deemed last year a disappointment for Campbell (even though he lead the team in sacks and his tackle total went up last season) and said he's got work to do this season. All that is code for = one more 2nd round pick will hit FA, get paid well and the Cardinals will draft someone else to replace him.

the guy is a solid 3-4 DE. A superstar? no... but you get him signed now before he hits FA and gets a stupid contract that we in no way will match. we've got 9 million in cap space. we chose not to spend it on CB, OLB, OT or #2 WR... all of which we'll have to go shopping for next off-season. Let's not add DE to that list.

and in another blog, Schofield is apparently now wearing a band on his arm with the defensive calls and Urban hints that the reason he can't get on the field is he can't remember the plays. makes you wonder about just how stupid the players we draft are.

 

[Stout]

On Horton:

Urban said that the Cards pared back 80% of their defensive playbook(!!!) for the game against the Seahawks. The Defense did all right, but it was also against the most toothless offense in the NFL, and they still scored more points than they had all season.

The Cards would be ill-advised to think that because they held the Seahawks to 14 points or whatever that their defense is on the right track. The Seahawks' offense is just awful. I think that people are starting to come around to the idea that Billy Davis was probably scapegoated and the problem with the D isn't the system, it's the personnel playing in the system.

It's amazing that no one is questioning whether this is the right system to run when it seems like the majority of players are confused about their assignments week after week. If Schofield, Wilson, Peterson, Campbell, Bradley, etc. are confused about what they're supposed to be doing, maybe the problem is that the defense is too confusing?

Until the Cards find a way to get to the passer against a solid team while only rushing 4, we're going to give up some very big plays indeed.

Ugh. Yes, we definitely have personnel problems--pretty much the same ones we had last year. Why are people already defending Davis and getting on Horton's case--he is trying to install the most intricate defense in the league, and had NO TIME to do it. Give it a rest, give him some time, and realize that we're just not going to have a good defense this year. I'll rant and rave about it too, and point out mistakes that Horton makes, but I will also realize that Horton gets a mulligan this year.

 

[MrYeahBut]

Ugh. Yes, we definitely have personnel problems--pretty much the same ones we had last year. Why are people already defending Davis and getting on Horton's case--he is trying to install the most intricate defense in the league, and had NO TIME to do it. Give it a rest, give him some time, and realize that we're just not going to have a good defense this year. I'll rant and rave about it too, and point out mistakes that Horton makes, but I will also realize that Horton gets a mulligan this year.

I won't argue your point, but I would like to say that at my age I've seen enough mulligans for a lifetime and I want to win


.

 

[THESMEL]

lay down the yard marker and slowly back away from the monster energy drinks! Your starting to sound like me......

1

CC has not proven a core player any more than DD though, DD leads with his mouth, He is good but not great. I like CC but to me a core player is an elite talent that could be worthy of franchise tag consideration or at least contracted protection like Dansby, Q, Rolle, Leinart, Kurt, DRC, Levi Brown. CC has not earned that in my eyes. neither has DD but most spanked me for years for saying that. DD can be upgraded as a DE overall. He has the elite quick speed skill set, but he loses more than he wins consistantly.... and disappears until limelight like 3 sacks in the SB after 4 sack all year?

2

Our Oline is great in my opinion. they have protected pass happy Kurt Warner for many records and right into the Hall of Fame. Our Olines continuity had as much to do with our first SB appearance and playoffs as anything else. The games we actually won in 2008, Edge started, established the run and opened up play action, giving the oline a fighting chance. that includes every playoff win, abandoned it in the SB and lost a close one, Freaking exciting like losing a 3 score lead at GB the next year, Most exciting game ever played! Mike Adams and Dansby in overtimes after Kurt and Rodgers lit it up. But We blew a 3 score lead wasting a 14 carry 90+ yard effort by Beanie Wells in the 1st 1/4.
Leading the playoffs in rush yards, invisable or not! on 14 freakin carries mind you!

So Levi and Deuce are pro bowl players on any other team with any football intelligence hands down. We lead the NFL nd have passed 64.8 % of the time over the last 3 years with and without Kurt. YES we passed 2/3rds of the time with DA, hall, Skelton and Bartell. AND we blame it on them and the OLINE! We went 19-13 with Warner and were 1-2 with Kolb. It's not the oline it is a flawed failed philosphy and A HC that forgot what he won Super Bowls in Pittsburg with. Don't know how except he refuses to wath the SB loss! He Needs to EVERY PLAY!

3
Whiz portrays calmness but acts in crisis with chaos, It aint no crazy scientist mixing up 51 new players, new DC, new OC is the rehashed failed PGC. The whole offensive PGC/ RGC structure Failed and is buried forever after Saints playoff game. That was stupid structure not football intelligence. like He was training Mike Miller to be OC? cause their aint no PGC or RGC's to be found in this universe? He knows he needs to run more, states it for years and doesn't do it until He is in the 3rd game of 20011 season, with a guy fresh off the streets and young 5th string RB! YEp Whiz has screwed the pooch and is all talk and no change.

4
Horton has no chance to succeed, he has a scheme designed to blitz as many times as possible as fast as possible as often as possible.

But the HC also wants an offense that passes as many times as possible as fast as possible as often as possible!

DUH let me repeat that DUH! You think might kill the Oline, defense and Special teams on weekly bases.
whisenhunt : blink Blink ----- calculated response ---if our players would just execute, our defense would stop someone, Patrick peterson would run that INT back, and our fans keep pouring money into my 5 million a year contact , We could have won the game. if they won't I'll fire the 3rd DC, get 50 + new players and prove that any team can fail miserably with superior talent by passing more than any other team in the history of earth, including Jerry Glanville and the Dirty Birds! Oh yes that Atlanta team that Whiz played on as a 12th round draft pick. Nope its Horton , off with his head 3rd game!


5
I'm a naturally happy fan, My priorties are to cheer for My Cardinals when they do well, even if they lose, i'm proven, Iwould have laid down in the road for Larry Centers when Buddy Ryan walked off that field. I cheered for TOM TUPA at QB for heavens to Betsy, I did, Our Punter gave it his all and I would slapped down any NFCE fan that said he didn't! He wasn't good but it was not his fault. He was put in at QB! Didn't We beat some teams with our Punter at QB? I can get drunk and cheer for that. Our Punter just kicked your AZ! man, stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!

When I see fundementally stupid football, wasted talent, MY RB's, Oline, defense throwed under the bus, ran over reversed and ran over, time and again by the HC, National media saying we are the worse team ever in the SB! Collinsworth was corrrect with Edge on the Bench, He just was! And Whiz put him there, through all them horrible losses. We are doing the same thing now years later with Wells. injury or not doesn't mattter. I've been boiling watching tthe 08 collapse, the Saints Collapse, cutting Leinart at the last minute for scrubs, Yea I'm pissed cause this is the best Cardinal team we ever had.

AND this fan thinks Graves and HC Whisenhut puts them in the worse possible enviroment and position on a weekly basis. We adjusted for Kurts skill set and are addicted to pass, we need intervention. Like Parcells or Marty Schottenheimer.

You think that even Mike Lombardi would allow this? He is better than Graves and that aint saying much! Hell Matt Millen is better then Graves. Well maybe I won't go that far, but at certain skill sets, LIKE SUPERVISING AN NFL FOOTBALL TEAM!

 

[az240zz]

I won't argue your point, but I would like to say that at my age I've seen enough mulligans for a lifetime and I want to win


.

Me thinks you should find another team to root for.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

So Levi and Deuce are pro bowl players on any other team with any football intelligence hands down. We lead the NFL nd have passed 64.8 % of the time over the last 3 years with and without Kurt. YES we passed 2/3rds of the time with DA, hall, Skelton and Bartell. AND we blame it on them and the OLINE! We went 19-13 with Warner and were 1-2 with Kolb. It's not the oline it is a flawed failed philosphy and A HC that forgot what he won Super Bowls in Pittsburg with. Don't know how except he refuses to wath the SB loss! He Needs to EVERY PLAY!

That's pure speculation, and highly, highly unlikely, especially for Levi. You can't be a pro bowl tackle on any team if you can't stop the opposing DE consistently. Levi, for consecutive years now, has given up the most QB hurries in all of football, and is constantly abused and embarrassed by practically every DE in the league. This isn't a matter of scheming, it's a matter of talent, and Levi doesn't have the necessary skill set to ever be a good tackle.

 

[MrYeahBut]

Me thinks you should find another team to root for.

I have no idea how you could think that I should root for another team just because I said I was tired of giving mulligans and wanted to win... were you serious???

I can only guess that you were joking and meant they are never going to win

 

[kerouac9]

Ugh. Yes, we definitely have personnel problems--pretty much the same ones we had last year. Why are people already defending Davis and getting on Horton's case--he is trying to install the most intricate defense in the league, and had NO TIME to do it. Give it a rest, give him some time, and realize that we're just not going to have a good defense this year. I'll rant and rave about it too, and point out mistakes that Horton makes, but I will also realize that Horton gets a mulligan this year.

So... Kolb gets a mulligan, and Horton gets a mulligan. If the two biggest changes that we had to our team (really, the only major changes) have complete excuses to be bad this year, then this team can go 5-11 again and you're going to be awesome with it.

I'll see you next season, then. Enjoy the P&R board where I assume you'll be hanging out.

 

[THESMEL]

missed that part

Levi brown has protected many more pass attempts than any other tackle in the NFL in his career. His protected immobile QB is 4-6 in the playoffs with all the SB passing records. His WR has all the playoff passing records.

well over 2000 passes to 1000 runs in the last 3 years without a 1000 yard back on the the team last in rushing attempts and all rushing statics during that 3 year span.

This oline gave up 26 and 27 sacks on the way to the playoffs while passing 64.8 % of the time, that is not giving up a sack over 575 times a year for 08 and 09. last year they gave up 50 sacks out of just less than 600 pass attempts. While Beanie Wells got 116 carries and 3 year starter THT got a career high 153 carries!

No other oline in the history of earth has been asked to do this formerly impossible task, and they took us to the SB for the first time, followed by a playoffs. You put Deuce and Levi on any playoff football team and their work load, pressure reduces not a little but a lot.

Grimm has done a fine job, unorthodox expectations, but his oline has been good enough to protect the most amount of passes with least amount of rushes during a 3 year span, since the birth of earth. We have tripled our 1st 100 years of playoff games !

And I respect that

That's pure speculation, and highly, highly unlikely, especially for Levi. You can't be a pro bowl tackle on any team if you can't stop the opposing DE consistently. Levi, for consecutive years now, has given up the most QB hurries in all of football, and is constantly abused and embarrassed by practically every DE in the league. This isn't a matter of scheming, it's a matter of talent, and Levi doesn't have the necessary skill set to ever be a good tackle.

 

[Stout]

So... Kolb gets a mulligan, and Horton gets a mulligan. If the two biggest changes that we had to our team (really, the only major changes) have complete excuses to be bad this year, then this team can go 5-11 again and you're going to be awesome with it.

I'll see you next season, then. Enjoy the P&R board where I assume you'll be hanging out.

No need to be an arrogant jerk, K9. Or to put words in my mouth. Take your uppity attitude and go home, eh? You know I wouldn't be awesome with us going 5-11. That's a stupid statement and simply inflammatory. So stuff it.

Kolb and Horton get mulligans, yes, but that doesn't mean they can completely bottom out. If Kolb averages out over the season as he has over the first three games, he'll have a successful season. Heck, just an average season would be acceptable, given that he had zero chance to learn the offense, at the QB position. So, yeah, he could potentially get a mulligan.

Horton came in with his version of the most complicated defense in the league, and had a mere few days more than our QB to implement it--and it has to be taught to a whole side of the team, not just one player. There's no way we get the whole defense installed this season--just no time to do that much. So yeah, he gets a pretty hefty mulligan. Doesn't mean it won't frustrate me to no end, and it doesn't mean I won't complain about it, but he has to be given a chance with, you know, a full defense. He hasn't had 1/2 the prep time that Billy Davis had in his FIRST season alone, so the comparison is really lame.

So, K9, lay off your arrogant juice, and discuss things rationally. You know, without the insulting hyperbole.

 

[kerouac9]

No need to be an arrogant jerk, K9. Or to put words in my mouth. Take your uppity attitude and go home, eh? You know I wouldn't be awesome with us going 5-11. That's a stupid statement and simply inflammatory. So stuff it.

Kolb and Horton get mulligans, yes, but that doesn't mean they can completely bottom out. If Kolb averages out over the season as he has over the first three games, he'll have a successful season. Heck, just an average season would be acceptable, given that he had zero chance to learn the offense, at the QB position. So, yeah, he could potentially get a mulligan.

Horton came in with his version of the most complicated defense in the league, and had a mere few days more than our QB to implement it--and it has to be taught to a whole side of the team, not just one player. There's no way we get the whole defense installed this season--just no time to do that much. So yeah, he gets a pretty hefty mulligan. Doesn't mean it won't frustrate me to no end, and it doesn't mean I won't complain about it, but he has to be given a chance with, you know, a full defense. He hasn't had 1/2 the prep time that Billy Davis had in his FIRST season alone, so the comparison is really lame.

So, K9, lay off your arrogant juice, and discuss things rationally. You know, without the insulting hyperbole.

Stout--do you know what a "mulligan" is? It's a do-over. If you're giving them both a mulligan, it means that you're not going to judge them on anything they do this year, because they get an essential do-over next year (when apparently there will be a whole new rash of excuses for each, I'm assuming).

These guys are professionals, they're getting paid the same for this season as they got paid for the previous, and for the next. There's no excuses for Polian and the Colts, no excuses for Reid and the Eagles, no excuses for Matt Ryan and the Falcons. Everyone has to play with the same rules and issues, so everything's fair across the board.

Only an idiot comes in with (according to you) the most complex defensive system in the NFL, lays it all in on Day 1, and then expects people to be good. If you're a teacher, if two students in the class are confused, that's the students' problem. If 2/3s of the class is confused, that's the teacher's problem. It seems as if we have a failure of a coordinator to anticipate the installation of his own system, and that's a problem.

I thought that Horton was going to tailor his scheme to his players' strengths? Have we heard any of that? No, we've heard Darnell Dockett (two time Pro Bowl player) saying that he's being asked to do things that he hasn't been asked to do in his entire career.

If you looked and asked yourself who the best players on the defense were, you'd probably answer in some order of Dockett-Wilson-Washington-Campbell. Basically, the defense we're playing right now neutralizes three of those players' strengths and highlights one.

You don't get a mulligan for burying the skill set of 2/3 of your top players, while getting your 2010 first-round pick spending the majority of his time on the bench.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Levi brown has protected many more pass attempts than any other tackle in the NFL in his career. His protected immobile QB is 4-6 in the playoffs with all the SB passing records. His WR has all the playoff passing records.

well over 2000 passes to 1000 runs in the last 3 years without a 1000 yard back on the the team last in rushing attempts and all rushing statics during that 3 year span.

This oline gave up 26 and 27 sacks on the way to the playoffs while passing 64.8 % of the time, that is not giving up a sack over 575 times a year for 08 and 09. last year they gave up 50 sacks out of just less than 600 pass attempts. While Beanie Wells got 116 carries and 3 year starter THT got a career high 153 carries!

No other oline in the history of earth has been asked to do this formerly impossible task, and they took us to the SB for the first time, followed by a playoffs. You put Deuce and Levi on any playoff football team and their work load, pressure reduces not a little but a lot.

Grimm has done a fine job, unorthodox expectations, but his oline has been good enough to protect the most amount of passes with least amount of rushes during a 3 year span, since the birth of earth. We have tripled our 1st 100 years of playoff games !

And I respect that

You could make a very easy rebuttal for the amount of sacks given during Warner's tenure. His quick release was a HUGE sack deterrent, much why in 2009 the team had given 26 sacks, which was 7th best in the league, and when Warner left, the team went to 2nd WORST with 50 sacks given up. This was all with the same exact players practically, aside from Faneca. Moreover, even with Warner's extremely fast release, the Cards O-Line had consistently allowed more QB hurries than any other team in the league, and Levi Brown has been statistically the worst OT in the league for the past 3 years consecutively.

You make an argument that the O-Line gives up these numbers because we pass the most? There were 10 teams last year that threw the ball more than the Cards, and out of those 10, none gave up more sacks than the Cards. How is it that New England, San Diego, Indianapolis, Saints, Falcons etc...can throw it just as much, if not more than the Cards, but they have half as many sacks, and a fraction of hurries given up?

I would bet you anything, that if Levi Brown was cut today, he would never start as a Tackle again in this league.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I thought that Horton was going to tailor his scheme to his players' strengths? Have we heard any of that? No, we've heard Darnell Dockett (two time Pro Bowl player) saying that he's being asked to do things that he hasn't been asked to do in his entire career.

If you looked and asked yourself who the best players on the defense were, you'd probably answer in some order of Dockett-Wilson-Washington-Campbell. Basically, the defense we're playing right now neutralizes three of those players' strengths and highlights one.

You don't get a mulligan for burying the skill set of 2/3 of your top players, while getting your 2010 first-round pick spending the majority of his time on the bench.

Instead, we basically neutralize our top 2 defensive players, asking them to basically be pawns in the D, and highlight our biggest weakness on the defense, let alone the team.

Hell of a plan!